CS 4001B Computing, Society and Professionalism

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CS 4001BComputing, Society and Professionalism

• Lecture 25Computer Crime
• Spring 2007
• Ellen Zegura

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Example GF 7.8

• Chris logs onto your computer at night while you
  sleep and uses some of your software. Robin
  takes your car at night while you sleep and
  drives it around for a while. Neither has your
  permission neither does damage.
• What characteristics of the two events are
  similar?
• What characteristics are different?
• Which would offend you more and why?

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Types of Computer Crime

• Stealing
• Passwords, information, identity
• Vandalism of web sites
• Disrupting normal service
• Viruses, worms, denial-of-service attacks
• Scams and fraud

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Example Vandalism

• EVIL ANGELICA

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Example The Internet Worm

• A Tour of the Worm

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Example ebay Fraud

• Ebay website

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Auction Fraud Solutions

• Caution by consumers (if it sounds too good to be
  true, it probably is)
• Reputations of buyers and sellers
• Insurance up to 200 for who?
• Escrow services
• Credit card numbers required by sellers (but not
  buyers)
• Suspending users

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Penalties (GF 7.27)

• Suppose a denial-of-service attack shuts down two
  dozen major Web istes, including retailers, stock
  brokerages, and large corporate entertainment and
  information sites, for several hours. The attack
  is traced to one of the following suspects. What
  penalty do you think is appropriate?
• Foreign terrorist who launched the attack to
  cause billions of dollars in damage to US economy
• Organization publicizing its opposition to
  commercialization of the Web and corporate
  manipulation of consumers
• A teenage used hacking tools found on a Web site
• A hacker group showing off to another hacker
  group about how many sites it could shut down in
  one day

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Security Dilemmas

• Does weak security justify intrusion?
• Do hackers help improve security?
• Should security flaws be announced to the public
  as soon as they are discovered?